Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Hello my name is Cayla Green. I am a rising senior studying Elementary Education. As long as I can remember I have always enjoyed reading. Reading allows me to escape and enjoy an adventure that an author has created. Many of my reading experiences have been awesome. I always had teacher that truly engaged in the book, which helped me to truly understand what was happening with the characters throughout the story. My grandmother was also a school librarian, she always shared with me books that helped to grow my love for reading. I hope that in my future classroom I can create a environment that fosters the love of reading and that I help children find books that they will love for ever.

One of my all time favorite childhood books is Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs written by Judi Barrett. This book allowed me to go on an adventure to a world where the weather consist of different types of food. I liked the creativity of this book, the plot was very engaging and allowed the reader to truly immerse in the characters storyline. I hope to read this book to my future students to help spark their curiosity in to different types of books especially fantasy books like this one.

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Hello everyone, my name is Logan Campbell and I am a special education teacher at the Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities. I taught severe autism at the high school level for 2 1/2 years and just finished my first semester at TLCDD. Tammy Lynn is a non-profit that is contracted through WCPSS to serve students that are medically fragile and have multiple disabilities. Basically, when a student has medical needs that cannot be safely met in a public school setting they come to us. It is extremely different. Some of my students lay in beds all day and are hooked up to a lot of machines but we make it work! Autism still has my heart and I hope to help start an AU program at TLCDD within the next few years. I keep my faith and my cats close to my heart and watch an unhealthy amount of Netflix. I am getting my M.Ed. in special education and if everything goes well this will be my last class of graduate school! I'm excited to learn new literacy strategies I can bring into my classroom and work with all of you!

Oh, the Places You'll Go! has a very special place in my heart. I loved it when I was little but now that I get to read it to my own students it has totally different meaning. The basic message in this book is that life is tough but everyone is smarter and stronger than they think they are. That is a very important message for students with disabilities to understand. So many people underestimate those with special needs and one of my jobs is to help my students realize just how capable they are. It will always be my favorite book to read to myself and to my students. 

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

Hello! My name is Caroline Chelemer and I am currently working towards a Master's Degree in Elementary Education.  After this summer I will be halfway done- woohoo! I also recently completed my sixth year of teaching.  I taught first grade for five years and spent this past school year teaching third grade.  At first I was skeptical about changing grade levels but I have since found that third grade is a perfect fit for this time in my life.  In addition, I am always looking for new ways to help my students develop a love for reading.  I believe that children's literature is a powerful tool for engaging even the most skeptical readers. 

As a young child my mom used to read to me every night.  A book that impacted my life at an early age was Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? written by Bill Martin and illustrated by Eric Carle.  One reason this book holds a special place in my heart is it is one of the earliest memories I have of reading.  The purpose of this book is to help very young children identify animals and the noises they make.  As a three-year-old child I was completely captivated by the colorful illustrations in this book and could look at them for hours on end.  Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? was also the first book I learned how to "read".  I remember "reading" to my mom after memorizing the whole book start to finish.  I felt so proud! This book will always hold a special place in my heart because it sparked my love for reading. 

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse

Hello!  My name is Kelly Gess.  Last semester was my first Graduate School course.  I'm looking forward to my classes for this summer session.  I spend the last three years teaching kindergarten.  This fall, I'm moving to 2nd grade and I am REALLY excited!  I love using read aloud books during my lessons, and am looking forward to widening my literature base for next year.  During my free time (which is usually only during the summer!), I enjoy traveling, exercising, cooking, reading, and watching movies.

My mom was an elementary school teacher and was always reading my sister and I new books.  One of my favorites was Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes.  The story is about a little girl who brings her favorite purse to school to show her classmates, only to have it taken away by her teacher.  Throughout the book, she learns about her feelings and how to make things right when you have done wrong.  My sister and I listened to the book over and over again!  I loved the bright colors and the little speech bubbles where the reader could experience Lilly's thought process.  I have read it to my own students, and they enjoyed it just as much as I did!

Love You Forever

Hey there! My name is Taylor Davis and I am a rising senior majoring in Elementary Education! For as long as I can remember, I have loved reading. I started reading around the age of 3 and since then, whenever I find a good book, it becomes very hard to put down. My old Sunday School teacher used to say that I loved to read so much that I would take over and teach the class just so I could read (So I guess here I was practicing my teaching and reading skills! Double whammy!!) 

When I think about a childhood book that had an impact on my life, I think it would have to be the book Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch. My mom gave me this book when I was born and wrote a note on the front cover, which gave it more of a special meaning to me. One of the repeating stanzas in this book is:

"I’ll love you forever,

I’ll like you for always,

as long as I’m living

my baby you’ll be."

My mom used to read this book to me before going to sleep at night and then when I was able to read, I would read with her, if not, to her. The moral behind this book is that no matter how old the child may get, the mother says that the son will always be her baby. In the end, it's the son who ends up singing this stanza to his mother, so the roles have reversed. To me, this book holds a special place in my heart because for one, my mom to this day still calls me her baby, and second, because of the bond that my mom and I have. 

Little Engine That Could

Hello, my name is MJ Salahuddin. I am in my first year of Grad School after formerly playing football here at NC State. My career ended after a second horrific ACL tear, this one being the opposite knee. I feel as though many in my shoes would have given up at that point, and maybe I would have too if it weren't for my upbringing. I was raised to have faith. I'm a strong believer in Jeremiah 29:11 (For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future). This is what fuels me. This verse is what motivates me to wake up every morning with a smile on my face and embrace a new day.

One of my favorite childhood books that attributed to developing my character is Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper. This is a story that teaches children that value of work ethic and optimism. The background of the tale is that a small engine is confident that it can pull a train over a mountain, while the larger engines are doubtful. Eventually, the engine succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain while repeating its motto: "I-think-I-can". This story has been told thousands of times, but the message remains the same. When you set your mind out to complete a task and truly believe that nothing can hold you back, nothing will.